My son is considering JMU however we have not seen them play. Can anyone comment on there style of play. Do they play beautiful soccer or is it more long ball? Is it more physical or finesse or a nice combination of both? Thanks in advance.
I go to JMU! I highly encourage and recommend it. I have been unable to attend any of the games this year, so I can't really tell you much about them in their current state. But last year I noticed the team becoming less long-bally and more team-oriented, in the past (like a few years ago) there seemed to be a lot of long-ball and mostly you'd notice that it was just a few players doing the work. Last year it seemed the team was evolving into a better team overall, not necessarily as far as win-loss records go, but as far as style and quality of play goes. This year they have an excellent record and I'm guessing the things I noticed last year have only gotten better. Also Tom Martin, the coach, is a great guy. He was the professor of one of my classes last semester, and it was awesome. In the classroom at least, he's very understanding, energetic, knowledgeable and helpful. That class was probably one of the most enjoyable ones I've taken at JMU. If you or your son have any other questions about the school, feel free to email, PM or send me an instant message, my screename on aol is QueenC723.
Courtney, Thank you very much for the info. I don't think I have been able to find anything bad to be said about JMU. I will tell my son to do the aol thing and contact you that way. He is a very nice kid and I appreciate your help.
I played for and coached with Tom Martin in the 80's and 90's. In my opinion he is one of the top tactical coaches in D1 soccer. Martin likes a mix of Big physical players and quick crafty finesse players. A proven winner year after year Coach Martins teams will always be in or around the top 20.